


an excuse for violence

by bombcollar



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 19:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bombcollar/pseuds/bombcollar
Summary: During a holiday party, Prince gets in a fight with one of his terrible relatives.





	an excuse for violence

**Author's Note:**

> A few headcanon notes: Inkanakuy is a holiday celebrated by Inklings alongside Squidmas, based on Takanakuy. It's a sort of massive organized street brawl. I can provide more info on it if you want but it wasn't totally relevant to the story so I didn't go in depth here. Secondly, Prince has rose gold ink as a default. Third, I'm a big fan of Inklings having claws, evolved from the tentacle hooks some modern squids possess.

While their parents socialize, the teenage guests banish themselves to the downstairs game room, away from the snide chatter and the repeated clink of wine bottles on glass. A few of them take turns on Mario Kart, pointing at the screen over one another's shoulders and shushing their backseat drivers. Electronic blips and chirps drift from one of the old arcade cabinets, along with frantic button-mashing and muffled curses from the Inkling bent over its console.

By now most of the kids were on their phones, sprawled on the expansive white couch, checking their friends' timelines for whatever artsy festival photos had been posted, who was documenting their victories or getting salty over their losses. Muffled music plays from the floor above, the sort of classy holiday tunes that just faded into the background, everyone having heard them hundreds of times before. Prince half-listens to the sparse conversation around him.

"Did you see that guy trip over himself? He faceplanted, it was awesome."

"Yeah, I think I got a video..."

"I don't know why he'd try to run, like, isn't that against the rules or something?"

"How many fights did you win this year, Prince?" Valencia asks. Prince thinks she might be his second cousin, or third maybe, it was hard to keep track. Tall and angular with violet tentacles and heavy-lidded eyes, about the same age as he was. He doesn't remember who the other girl is, the one she'd been talking to. Other than during holidays like this, he barely saw the rest of his family.

Emperor was upstairs getting himself coffee. Even though he was completely exhausted he insisted on staying awake, perhaps to make sure the rest of the kids couldn't shittalk him while he wasn't there. It was an unspoken tradition that the first person to fall asleep was fair game for both pranks and gossip. Though he'd only planned to stay out for an hour or so, he'd gotten followed all around the city by fellow turf players, past opponents and hopefuls, all eager to try their hand against the king. Of course as everyone knew, it was rude to refuse a challenge. Even Emperor had his limits. He been irritable earlier, snippy with everybody and uninterested in socializing. During dinner he'd been on the verge of nodding off, resting his cheek in his hand and staring blankly at his plate. He may have fallen facefirst into his salad if it had gone on much longer.

It was past 1 in the morning now, and Prince had nearly fallen asleep himself before he'd heard his name. "I didn't fight anyone," he says.

"Why not? Isn't that basically the point?" Valencia smirks crookedly, showing one of her beak points. "Did you even go out?"

"Yeah, I just didn't... really have anyone I wanted to fight." It was fun just being out there with Jr. and Pacer, cheering them on and soaking in the excitement of the day. Prince rolls onto his stomach, resting his chin in his folded arms. "If I had anyone I was still mad at I would've fought them, but I didn't. Maybe next year." Inkanakuy was, among other things, a chance to settle old grudges. Easy to make amends when you got physically active and that dopamine was flowing.

Valencia scoffs, getting up from the arm of the couch she was sitting on. "I'll fight you."

"Yeah... no thanks."

"You're not supposed to back down from the challenge, you know. It's rude."

"Inkanakuy is over." Prince raises his head a little. "I don't have to do anything."

"Don't be a wuss." She stands over him, her hands on her narrow hips. "You never want to do anything fun while I'm here. What's the matter, you don't think you can beat me? Huh?" She lashes out and smacks the top of his head, tousling his tentacles. "Come on!"

Prince grunts, shoving at her with one hand. "Val, cut it out, I don't wanna fight. I'm tired." She ignores him and shoves him over, pinning him to the couch with a knee to his chest. Any exhaustion he might have been feeling suddenly evaporates, and he stares up at her wide-eyed.

He opens his mouth to yell at her to get off him when she smacks him across the face. "Come on!" Val laughs. "Are you gonna fight back or not? Or are you only good when you're doing your stupid turf war thing? You know, my dad never shuts up about it, like it's such a big fucking deal-" When he tries to speak again she shoves her hand against his face, covering his mouth. Prince thrashes, grabbing her wrist but she uses her other hand to pin his arm back. Though some of the guests look uncomfortable, they all either turn back to their phones or continue to watch in mild interest. Val bares her teeth nastily. "Come on, just accept the challenge already and we can fight for real!"

Prince wrenches his head to the side and bites her hand, harder than he intends to, but she was pushing it into his face so she's partially at fault for what happens next. Ink gushes into his mouth and he chokes, gagging and sputtering as Val shrieks in pain. "You little asshole! Why'd you do that?!" she spits, her shrill voice equal parts anger and disbelief.

"I told you to stop!"

She punches him in the face, though it's less of a proper punch and more of her bringing her fist down like a hammer on his eye. Prince retaliates, lashing out blindly with his claws and catching her across the cheek, cutting a trio of purple lines into her flesh. He thinks he can hear someone say _oh my god, Val,_ as they both roll off the couch, landing heavily on the floor. While Prince tries to hit back as best as he can, she's too quick and he's already tired, reduced to holding his arms over his face, trying in vain to kick her as she rains blow after blow upon him. He can taste his own ink running into his mouth where she'd punched him in the nose, it's getting difficult to breathe...

_"What's going on down here?"_

Prince feels Val's weight suddenly lift, and he lowers his arms, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggles to catch his breath. His vision is fuzzy, his eye swollen shut, but he can tell from the hush that's fallen over the room that Emperor must have finally come back down the stairs.

Although he looks as collected as ever in his cream-colored quarter-zip, carrying his coffee mug with their team logo on it, it felt as if the pressure in the room had increased, as if they had all suddenly plunged underground. It's impossible not to notice the pink and purple ink staining the plush carpet, splattering their clothing. Emperor quickly closes the distance between them, absently setting the mug down along the way, his expression a blank. While he often looked annoyed or smug, Prince knew that when he got really angry, actually furious, it barely showed.

Val gets to her feet, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. "He attacked me!"

"No I didn't," Prince croaks, wiping his face with his hand. "She was hitting me, she had her hand over my mouth-"

"It's Inkanakuy, you're supposed to fight! You're not supposed to _bite_ people!"

"I told you I didn't want to!"

"You were being a bad sport-"

 _"Quiet,"_ Emperor says softly. His lips peel back from his sharp beak points as he looms over Valencia. "You come into my house-"

"Your brother's such a baby!" Val interrupts him, snarling. "I came here to have a good time and he wouldn't even fight me! You guys have always had sticks up your asses but you're shitty hosts too, and he's a shitty Inkling if he won't even fight me on the night that's you're _supposed_ to fight anyone who asks! What's wrong with you guys?!"

"Get out," Emperor hisses. Slowly Prince picks himself up off the floor, swaying and grabbing onto the couch for support. Ink oozes sluggishly from his nose and small cuts on his face from Val's claws. It's begun to crust on her face where he'd slashed her cheek, garish against her pale skin.

She stands firm, even though the rest of the party has given them a wide berth, which had gradually grown as Emperor crept closer to her. "You can't tell me what to do. This was supposed to be _fun_ , you're totally ruining this party!"

"I said-"

"I heard you." Val shoves him, and he stumbles back a step. "How about _you_ fight me, huh? Since Prince wouldn't? Mr. King of the battlefield or whatever stupid title you gave y-"

Maybe he was just exhausted, his intimidating aura failing him for the moment, his decision-making skills not as sharp as they normally were. She'd brutalized his poor brother and the sight of Prince dragging himself onto the couch, the ink on the carpet, on his shirt, on his hands, the small crowd of his own relatives gathered around him, staring in rapt attention... He's sure one at least one of them is filming this. His heartbeats hammer in his ears despite the silence of the room. Something inside him pops like the cap of a shaken soda. He decides she's had her chance and refused to take it.

Emperor tackles her to the ground, sinking his teeth into her shoulder. Valencia screams and tries to claw her way free, but he holds her arms down. She knees him in the stomach so hard he almost vomits and tries to scramble away, but he jumps on top of her again and slams them both into the tv, knocking it off the cabinet so the liquid crystal shatters, spiderwebbing the screen. Val swipes at his face, clawing him over the cheek and forehead but missing his eyes. He lunges, this time grabbing her ear in his beak and biting down hard as she shrieks. His mouth is full of ink and his face stings and it surprises him as much as it does her with his jaws click together and he tears off a chunk of her ear.

Things seem to swim back into focus, and he opens his mouth, letting the inky hunk of flesh and cartilage slide off his tongue and plop onto the stained carpet. He gets to his feet, wobbling a bit and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Get out," he repeats, mumbling in between panted breaths. Then, stronger, whirling around to face the rest of them, "Get out! Get out of my house, all of you! _Get out!"_

One of their other cousins grabs Valencia by the arm and drags her to her feet, sobbing and clutching her bleeding ear. None of them speak as they retreat back up the stairs, though Emperor's sure they'd have plenty to talk about as soon as he was out of earshot. That was fine, though. It was difficult to concern himself with his image right now. He collapses onto the couch next to Prince, whose shock had finally worn off and who was currently trying not to cry, taking shaky breaths as he hugged his knees. The pain wasn't so bad, nothing worse than injuries he'd sustained playing turf war. It was more that he worried about what their parents would say, their aunts and uncles, the sound of hurried footsteps and raised voices upstairs that would inevitably come. For now, though, it's quiet, apart from the tired holiday music.

"...you believe me, right?" Prince asks, his voice raspy.

"Mhm," Emperor mumbles a reply after a moment, lying back with his eyes shut.

"I didn't attack her first."

"I know."

Prince scoots up beside his brother, who puts an arm around his shoulders, absently rubbing his sore stomach with his other hand. "...are you okay?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'll be fine. Just... tired. " Despite what he'd done, Emperor doesn't seem concerned, sighing out his words and letting his head loll against the cushion. Prince closes his one good eye, trying to relax along with him. His elder brother was usually sensible about things... usually. Maybe not all the time, but Prince trusted his judgement. If he wasn't worried, Prince wouldn't worry either. The holidays were a stressful time of year, but they were a little better with someone to look out for you. 


End file.
